A New Year's Writing Ritual

Thank you, 2024 & welcome, 2025.

As the year changes, I am reminded of one of my favorite New Year's poems by Lucille Clifton, "i am running into a new year/and the old years blow back/like a wind/that i catch in my hair/like strong fingers like/all my old promises and/it will be hard to let go/of what i said to myself/about myself/when i was sixteen and/twentysix and thirtysix/even thirtysix but/i am running into a new year/and i beg what i love and/i leave to forgive me."

The calendars will turn this week, and the global ritual of calling in a new year will happen across communities and in our collective cheering across time zones. Whether you kiss a loved one, write down your wishes, bang pots and pans, toast champagne, or sing an old and beloved song, these rituals carry magic when practiced together (even when apart).

I want to offer one of my favorite writing rituals this week.

As the year changes, make a list of enchantments. Take a piece of paper and a writing utensil, and remember and reflect on 2024. Write down the magical mundane, the small moments, and the times when you were enchanted with the world around you. Aim for at least 12 enchantments, one each month, but as many as you'd like are welcome.

Keep this note safe on your altar, bury the note in your garden, or burn it as you thank the year for all the magic that has passed, ritually releasing the year.

After you write a list of 2024's enchantments, make another list of intentions and dreams for the year ahead: a letter to future enchantments that will unfold as you enter the new year.

Keep this note safe on the altar, create a spell jar, or tuck it under your mattress to open it a year from now to remember the adventure you embarked on 365 days prior.

Happy New Year, Word Witches. Thank you for being here with me, stepping across the threshold, perpetually creating with and for enchantment.